Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Boardies, Budgie Smugglers and Euro-Togs

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. . . A Brief Survey of Aussie Male Swimwear

Summer in Australia invariably sees a resurgence of the (often humorous) debate about the best type of swimwear for men. Is it boardies or Speedos?

In 2009 the debate received national attention when photos of a Speedos-clad Tony Abbott, leader of the opposition party in Australian federal politics, were widely brandied around and discussed. With Mr. Abbott being well known for his staunch Roman Catholicism, the images briefly earned him the nickname “Mad Monk Hunk.” By and large, however, he – and his Speedos – wereridiculed.

In response to all the hubbub, Melbourne’s Herald Sun conducted a survey anddeclaredthat “the verdict from the girls is in – board shorts win for modesty.”

Yes, it would seem that Speedos have definitely fallen out of favour. This is unfortunate, in my opinion, as some guys definitely look, well, good in them.

And maybe for a lot of people, that’s the issue.

After all, in our still largely patriarchal society, it's acceptable to view and admire women as objects of beauty and desire, but less so when it comes to men. Why is this?

I think it's got something to do with what Ramsey Burttalks aboutin his bookThe Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities. Maybe the “spectacle” of a good-looking guy in a pair of Speedos is similar to that of a well-toned and graceful male dancer. Both, in their beauty, strength and vulnerability, have the potential to challenge, undermine and/or redefine patriarchal notions of masculinity.

I once read that the key to wearing Speedos is to have them tight around the back and loose in the front. Unfortunately, most guys get it the wrong way around. The result is a saggy bottom at back and a case of "too much information" up front! Of course, even when worn "correctly," there's always no doubt that it's a male body inside a pair of Speedos. That must be a problem for a lot of people, given the popularity of the Speedos' derogatory nickname of “budgie smugglers.”

For my non-Australian readers the following illustration byJohn Hunter humorously shows what a “budgie” or budgerigar is, and why such a colourful little bird gets caught up in the whole "boardies versus Speedos" debate.

The history of the Speedo is quite interesting. According toTim Hunter, who made Packed Lunch, a documentary film about the much-maligned Speedos, “the classic swimming brief was designed by Peter Travis, a gay man now in his 70s and living in Sydney, who was approached by Speedo in 1960 to produce a range of men’s leisure and swimwear.”

“Travis,” says Hunter, “started with the hips as the body’s stable point, not the waist, and reasoned aesthetically that anything worn on the hips couldn’t be more than three inches (7.6 centimetres) wide. Thus, the Speedo brief was born.”

Hunter argues that the Speedo is “acceptable as a functional garment, worn when you’re swimming laps at the pool or competing in a triathlon or under your boardies at the beach. They're even acceptable as a fashionable garment, within reason.”

This question of "within reason" is humorously highlighted in, of all things, the following advertisement from New Zealand for Trumpet ice creams!

Interestingly, I'd doubt you'd see a guy as young as the actor in this ad wearing a pair of Speedos. On Australian beaches it's generally older (and, er, less-in-shape) guys who don the Speedo. So how does Tim Hunter account for the widespread negativity towards the Speedo? He writes that:

The Speedos Cringe is . . . born of embarrassment. After all, we're talking about a piece of clothing that leaves very little of a man's assets to the imagination. That's why there are myriad slang nicknames for them: budgie-smugglers, sluggos, dick togs, lollybags . . . the list goes on.

Yet as the photo at right, er, clearly shows, revealing swimwear for men existed long before the advert of the Speedo. I wonder if these bathing suits from the 1930s were ever disparaging referred to as "dick togs"? Or were people less prone to sexualizing or turning into a fetish every glimpse of the male penis? What's wrong with observing, even admiring, and then moving on?

Speaking of which, there’s one group of people who rarely fail to admire the Speedo, especially when worn well: gay men. I put this down to a certain gay male aesthetic. It’s not possessed by all gay men, to be sure, but by a significant number of us I would contend. It’s an aesthetic that is drawn to affirming and creating beauty in all manner of forms – from literature to music, fromliturgiesto, well . . . swimwear.

Which brings me to the latest news in the development of Australian male swimwear. According to a story in last weekend’s Sunday Telegraph, a new type of swimwear that’s “halfway between the boardie and budgie smugglers” is gaining popularity with Aussie men.

“The popularity of trunks, or Euro-togs,” writes Briana Domjen, “is growing, allowing wearers to flaunt more skin than board shorts but leave more to the imagination than Speedos.”

Domjen quotes Sydney’s Channel Seven’s style advisor Kai Aiyub as saying that “[Euro-] togs [are] the best of both worlds,” the “love child” of the board shorts and the Speedo.

I guess I'll have to wait until next time I'm in Australia to see just how popular the Euro-tog becomes. Somehow I think boardies have won the day and will continue to reign supreme on Australian beaches.

Oh, and for the record, I wear boardies and Speedos – both at the same time! You see, like a lot of guys, I wear Speedos under my boardies.

15 comments:

Mick
said...

Go speedos (er, Togs???)!!! But like any piece of clothing, it has to be right for you. Anyone with a body fat index of 50% should not be wearing them. (I opt for the diving bell, as it compliments by figure best).

I remember way back in the late 50's when I was a young teenager and bought a swimming costume that, from memory, was very like these eurotogs. My mother made me take them back as you could see my navel :-) How things have changed.

Thanks for this Michael. This surely lightened my mood. I liked the pictures. Another crappy day here. It started off pretty enough with 5 inches of new snow but then it turned to rain. Rain at 22 degrees (F not C) is not fun. We have an ice storm headed our way at the moment. So this is a welcome relief. That is cool that you wear speedos under your boardies.

Well, respectfully, from the nudist community, any style of bathing trunks are a bit ridiculous. If God wanted us to wear clothes when we went swimming, we would have been worn with them. I say chuck all the trunks and swim free!

A bit on the pretentious side, but good for a giggle. I doubt the so-called patriarchy (if such a thing exists) has much to do with it. Ancient Greece and Renaissance Europe both glorified the male nude, and both these societies were more macho than the modern West. If anything, it's our highly feminist culture which make us fear and abhor male sexuality.

Great blog! I agree the vitriol towards Speedos is purely down to embarassment. Both women and men do not know how to react when confronted with the site of a man....not wearing very much! For some reason, male underwear and swimwear, just cannot be mentioned without embarassment and joking - hence the silly names: Budgie smugglers, banana hammock etc.

There was a time when everyone wore speedos and it was no big deal. Today somehow men are very uncomfortable seeing other men in a state of undress - which begs the question, how do these men cope in the male locker room - seeing other men actually naked???

Thanks for this great post! Certainly a lot of this issue has to due with the genital revealingness of Speedos, but I think there's more to it. The male dress code prohibits guys from showing anything above the knee, yet it's fine for them to be completely naked above the waist. Hmm. Why is it that many guys are loathe to show any thigh at all, whereas women in micro-short-shorts are completely acceptable? Has the thigh somehow become feminized? if so, how and why?

In Brazil it's kind of mixed. I remember when I was a kid it was kind of normal for men to wear Speedos. But from my teenage years on (I'm 26), it was boardies all around. But that depends on region. Beach boys from Rio de Janeiro are famous for wearing speedos, even straight guys, and they all (think they) look very manly. They do have very very well-tended bodies in Rio de Janeiro, though.

The ghetto inspired oversized basket ball shorts in the US started this trend of maximum coverage for men. What is their problem of showing a thigh or heaven forbid a swimsuit that doesn't hide the fact that the wearer is male? I don't care what the self appointed textile police say, I will always wear a speedo style suit on the beach.

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